Peter Artedi

Peter Artedi (February 22, 1705 – September 27, 1735) was a Swedish naturalist and is known as the "father of Ichthyology".

Artedi was born in the province of Angermannia. Intending to become a clergyman, he went, in 1724, to study theology at Uppsala University, but he turned his attention to medicine and natural history, especially fishes. In 1728 his countryman Carolus Linnaeus arrived in Uppsala, and a lasting friendship was formed between the two. In 1732 both left Uppsala, Artedi for England, and Linnaeus for Lapland; before parting they reciprocally bequeathed to each other their manuscripts and books in the event of death.

Artedi accidentally drowned at Amsterdam, where he was engaged in cataloguing the collections of Albert Seba, a wealthy Dutchman, who had formed what was perhaps the richest museum of his time. According to agreement, his manuscripts came into the hands of Linnaeus, and his Bibliotheca Ichthyologica and Philosophia Ichthyologica, together with a life of the author, were published at Leiden in 1738.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.